Gymnast Still Competes After Losing Her Leg

This Gymnast Is Still Competing After Losing Her Leg To Cancer

From the age of 7, Kate Foster knew she needed gymnastics in her life. "I've never really found anything that I've loved more," she tells Good Morning America in the video, above. That's why, when leukemia and a severe infection in her leg forced her to need an amputation at the age of 12, she resisted at first. "You're not taking off my leg," she recalls telling her doctors. "I need that for gymnastics."

But the procedure was necessary and it was actually Foster's coach who helped her see the amputation in a different light. She told Foster she'd never coached a one-legged gymnast before, but she'd be willing to try if Foster was. Now, four years later, Foster competes on a national level, held to the same standards and scoring as her fellow gymnasts.

Foster is a natural role model for young athletes with or without disabilities, though she doesn't see it that way. "People tell me all the time that I'm an inspiration, but I'm just kind of me," she says.